Journal of the Spanish Institute for Strategic Studies Núm. 10 / 2017 http://revista.ieee.es/index.php/ieee 340 JIHADISM AS AN EXPRESSION OF VIOLENCE INTRODUCTION: VIOLENCE AND THE OTHER “In a highly violent conflict, the question should always be: What is the conflict underlying so much violence? If the violence is the smoke, where is the fire? Journalists are experts in smoke but almost never in fire. In general, they know very little about the fire. Violence is important, there is a great deal of suffering; someone has the hope of winning and there is also the fear of losing. Two questions arise based on the understanding of this violence and suffering: What is the underlying conflict? Is there any solution to this underlying conflict? Naturally, we later do everything we can to discover this solution”1. Defining violence is complicated. In general, all definitions of the term refer to force. They tend to be accompanied by other terms that limit their meaning and that, in general, have negative connotations. Physical, verbal, founding or symbolic violence only serve to add meaning to a (physical or verbal) aggression, an instinct or a form of oppression and/or domination. Manuel Delgado2stated that vague definitions of violence such as the “exercise of force” or “non-consensual imposition” may become recognised in any type of coercion or pressure. He considered violence to be a specific quality of certain acts that have become de-socialised, turning any form of public violence into a criminal act, giving the state a monopoly on force, and converting any non-authorised use of said force into violence. The word itself seems to be without an antonym depending on the meaning we give it, as it calls on a complex reality whose counterpart should almost exclusively be translated as no-violence. It is, however, an historic fact that goes hand-in-hand with the social origins of mankind and his relationship with his peers. So indeed, it could be an integral part of the very essence of being human: “Force, violence and life are embedded in the human being, whose interaction with the natural environment is conflictive. This complexity is compounded in the social sphere where violence is used as a form of relationship”3. 1 GALTUNG, J. (2004). «Investigación para la paz y conflictos: Presente y Futuro.» Todavía en busca de la paz. Zaragoza: Fundación Seminario de Investigación para la Paz, 2004. 525-542. Translated from Spanish by translator. 2 DELGADO RUIZ, Manuel. «Discurso y Violencia: La ‹Fantasmización› Mediática de la Fuerza.» Trípodos, 1998: 55-68. 3 AZNAR FERNÁNDEZ-MONTESINOS, Federico. «La violencia y el ser humano.» (Analysis Document) Instituto Español de Estudios Estratégicos, 3 June 2015, http://www.ieee.es/Galerias/fichero/ docs_analisis/2015/DIEEEA32-2015_ViolenciaySerHumano_FAFM.pdf (last consulted 20.03.2017).
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